An Islamic rights group is urging the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, to investigate the government of Bangladesh for alleged crimes against humanity in persecuting its political foes.
British lawyer Toby Cadman said he filed the request on behalf of the International Coalition for Freedoms of Rights a month after Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s party won elections marred by violence and a boycott by the main opposition party.
International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda will decide whether to launch an investigation after studying the application.
Tejshree Thapa, Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch, said on Tuesday the group is concerned about the potential for escalating violence in Bangladesh, especially after the January 5 elections. But she said she believes government abuses haven’t been systematic enough to rise to the level of “crimes against humanity.”
In Bangladesh, the world’s fourth largest Muslim country with a population of 160 million, politics are divided between Hasina’s governing Awami League and the centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
In Tuesday’s filing, Cadman’s office identified specific alleged instances of government forces shooting, detaining and torturing civilian protesters.
“It is clear that since the current Awami League government first came to power in 2009 there have been hundreds of deaths,” caused by government forces, the filing said. “Numbers are difficult to quantify due to the absence of credible investigations and the inability of the media and international nongovernmental organizations to properly document crimes.”
Requests for a response from Bangladesh’s foreign ministry and Hasina’s office went unanswered Tuesday.
Cadman has represented a small Islamist party allied with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the past.
The International Coalition for Freedoms of Rights was formed in Istanbul, Turkey, last year after the military coup that removed Egypt’s former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi from office. The organization is closely associated with Islamist legal efforts to prosecute the coup leaders.
Source: UNBConnect
It is about time, Sheikh Hasina’s dictatorial group be scrutinized by the International Criminal Courts. She is a democratically elected dictator who is responsible for killing of hundreds of protesters and torturing opponents. She has done it with the help of a foreign country.
Indeed, a very timely step.
Hasina certainly is not a “democratically” elected leader. Rather in the wake of formidable opposition boycott to join a stage managed election that she organized in January 2014, she simply used the facade of democracy to get herself “re-elected”, with only 20% voter turn out (this is the most optimistic assessment, actual figure is said to much lower).
Irrespective of this gross lapse in electoral credibility, and thanks to the Indian patronage and that of a self-seeking international community that have since out-competed each other to recognize this illegitimate government, Hasina has now become more arrogant and successfully re-positioned herself to continue her dictatorial rule that thrives on lies, repression and murder of political opponents.
Even though I am not overly optimistic that much will come out of Islamic Rights Group’s application in the Hague’s International Criminal Court, but pleased that someone iat least an attempt has been made to make sure that her criminal activities do not go completely unreported.
Finally, at a time when when anything that has to do with Islam or Muslims has become a no-go area for many, Tony Cadman’s consistent efforts to project wrongs done on Islamists in Bangladesh is not only incredibly brave but also inspiring.
Totally agree with ADK. Also like to add – India, the so called largest democracy in the world, should be ashamed of how they unconditionally patronised Hasina. India has proved beyond doubts that they do not stand for democracy any more. Most democracy loving people of Bangladesh will curse them for ever.
I do not expect much to come out of such an investigation. However, it is a step forward in labeling Hasina as a defendant in an international court. There should be more similar efforts, both internationally and domestically. Thanks to the Islamic Right’s Group for their initiatives.
It is important that muslims keep both eyes and years open and use them. The name of islam is being used by all and sundry for politics and business. We should call for justice against those who use the mosques to propogate lies and slaughter people inramadan -alaFatikchari oand those who burnt innocent people in trains and busses. Similarlyone should think why in Egypt the new regime is supported by muslimcountries while they are persecuting muslims and why israel is laughing all the way being the gretest beneficiary of it. Hikmat! Is what is required!
But she said she believes government abuses haven’t been systematic enough to rise to the level of “crimes against humanity.” What more does she want? When bullet-ridden dead bodies are found every day lying here and there, bythe roadside, in the marshes and rivers, should one think these are not human bodies? If these are not, then do nothing and let the ICCJ remain in deep slumber until an earthquake collapses the roof over it. It’s very fascinating to observe that one single non-Muslim death irks and disturbs the international community much, much more than the death of hundreds of Muslims because Muslims are in truth sub-human beings.